Talk about the party of small government. I guess small enough to fit in your bedroom and in your underwear or bed. How do these people figure they have a right to decide which adults can live together, Oh right they are the Christian Taliban moral police. First they decide what women can do with their reproductive health needs forcing them to carry pregnancies they don’t want or that will kill them, then what is proper clothing to wear for each gender, then who can live with whom, then what those gender roles must be. Oh and notice what they use as justification for preventing consenting adults of different sexes living together? Yes the children, have to protect the children while pushing that Christian religious morality. Here it comes. Hugs
Law signed in 1931 is rarely enforced but carries penalty of prison time and $1,000 fine
In Michigan, for the first time in four decades, Democrats control the legislature and the governor’s mansion. Photograph: Carlos Osorio/AP
An attempt to repeal a Michigan law that punishes unmarried couples who live together is being thwarted by Republicans in the state legislature.
The law, which dates to 1931, targets “any man or woman, not being married to each other, who lewdly and lasciviously associates and cohabits together”.
It is rarely enforced but violations carry a penalty of up to a year in prison and a $1,000 fine.
Senate Bill 56, which seeks to repeal the law, attracted support from all state senate Democrats and half of Republicans. But nine Republicans voted against.
Edward McBroom, a Republican, spoke in opposition to the bill on the senate floor – for, he said, the sake of the “common good”.
He said: “This law was not passed to be mean … it was passed for the betterment of society, particularly for children.”
McBroom argued that unmarried cohabitation does not promote marriage, and that such arrangements lead to broken homes that hurt children.
Another Republican state senator against repealing the antiquated law said his reasons for doing so were tax-related.
Thomas Albert said: “I very easily would be a yes on this bill if the tax structure continued to encourage marriage.”
According to federal law, an individual may not claim someone such as their domestic partner as a dependent, if their state outlaws the nature of their relationship. Only one other state – Mississippi – has a similar law regarding unmarried couples.
In Michigan, for the first time in four decades, Democrats control the legislature and the governor’s mansion.
Referencing that new landscape, a Democratic state senator, Erika Geiss, tweeted: “Between this and the anti-abortion laws that are now repealed in Michigan, 1931 was quite the year in Michigan when its legislature was composed of solely men.
“But this legislature in 2023, composed of mostly women, is fixing that shit.”
The bill now moves to the statehouse.
Scottie's Playtime 
Scottie, like several of the initiatives that are getting promoted within the Republican Party, this one ranks as one of the more inane ones. This one, like a few others, are cringeworthy, even to most Republicans.
My wife and I lived together for about ten months before we were married, which we still are. To me, cohabitation helps determine if you can live together. With a 50% divorce rate, you would think there would be more support for learning if you can live together. Keith
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Hello Keith. Well said, very well said. Congratulations on your marriage. Ron and I are celebrating our 33rd year together. As for the republicans, I think they really see themselves as rules enforcing behavior rather than public servants who serve the public. I don’t get it. They have totally given up on doing the will of the people, but instead demanding the public do as they tell them. I blame gerrymandering for that. I just read that NC Supreme Court just reversed itself and will allow massive gerrymandering that will lock in republican rule as it becomes more of a minority. The older republicans seem terrified of the youth vote so are doing all they can to cancel it. Hugs
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So from the viewpoint of these bigots, it’s far better to have a few (useless) words said at some religious ceremony than to simply cohabitate and live happily ever after. (Note: let’s compare divorce rates with breakups of cohabitating couples!)
Some of these people can only be described as ILLITERATE NUTS!!!
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Hello Nan. I think it was on your blog I mentioned that the church did not care about marriage until well after people were hooking up.
At the time the person I asked it of refused to acknowledge that it did not mean that the idea of the bible proves that god created marriage, and that only a god sanctioned marriage of one man and one woman was a marriage. You asked me not to argue it out further and I agreed to do as you asked.
Everything you said is correct, Nan. But what people have to realize is the Republican Party has been taken over with the majority of them now being Christian religious zealots. Why should people be allowed to live as they wish? They don’t see themselves as civil servants, but as enforcers for their views. They see themselves as rulers who get to demand you the public do / live as they demand, rather than passing laws that the public wants. They don’t care that they are the minority. They feel their job is to return the USA to their god and their way of thinking. And they will do what ever it takes to return the US to that regressive past. Hugs
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